For the second year, I’ve been a judge for these awards. Last year I did Children’s and YA on my own; this year, it was rather more sane, with two of us judging the YA and then we also have the children’s shortlist to read, so there will be four of us deciding the winners for both shortlists. There’s some fabulous books out there by Aussie authors!

Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards shortlist announced.

Culture and the Arts Minister John Day today announced the shortlists for the 2010 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards.

Mr Day said a record number of 571 entries were submitted this year, compared to 400 for the 2009 awards.

“I am pleased these important awards are attracting so many entries from a wide range of publishers,” he said.

“This year, a People’s Choice Award has been added to the mix of categories.

“The six titles short―listed in the Fiction category will be eligible for this award, and I encourage avid readers and book club members across Australia to familiarise themselves with each of these fantastic works, so they can influence the outcome.”

Voting on the People’s Choice Award will commence on July 25 and finish on September 2. The voting form will be available on the State Library’s website.

The winners will be announced in September 2011.

Non Fiction

A Three-Cornered Life: The Historian W.K. Hancock

Jim Davidson

UNSW Press

Breaking News

Ben Hills

Scribe Publications

Into The Woods: The Battle For Tasmania’s Forests

Anna Krien

Black Inc.

Macquarie

Harry Dillon and Peter Butler

Random House Australia

Reading by Moonlight

Brenda Walker

Penguin Group Australia

The Quest For Justice

Ken Crispin

Scribe Publications

Fiction

Body in the Clouds

Ashley Hay

Allen & Unwin

Indelible Ink

Fiona McGregor

Scribe Publications

That Deadman Dance

Kim Scott

Picador Australia

Traitor

Stephen Daisley

Text Publishing Co.

Utopian Man

Lisa Lang

Allen & Unwin

The English Class

Ouyang Yu

Transit Lounge Publishing

Poetry

Burning Bright

Caroline Caddy

Fremantle Press

Colombine, New & Selected Poems

Jennifer Harrison

Black Pepper

Fire Diary

Mark Tredinnick

Puncher & Wattmann

Phantom Limb

David Musgrave

John Leonard Press

Pirate Rain

Jennifer Maiden

Giramondo Publishing

Selected Poems of Dorothy Hewett

Kate Lilley

UWA Publishing

Children’s Books

Henry Hoey Hobson

Christine Bongers

Random House

Mirror

Jeannie Baker

Walker Books

Sarindi’s Dragon Kite

Janine M. Fraser/Illusrator Elise Hurst

Harper Collins Australia

The Red Wind

Isobelle Carmody

Penguin Group Australia

The Three Loves Of Persimmon

Cassandra Golds

Penguin Group Australia

Toppling

Sally Murphy/Illustrator Rhian Nest James

Walker Books

Young Adults

Anonymity Jones

James Roy

Random House Australia

Happy as Larry

Scot Gardner

Allen & Unwin

The FitzOsbornes in Exile : The Montmaray Journals 2

Michelle Cooper

Random House

The Midnight Zoo

Sonya Hartnett

Penguin Group Australia

This Is Shyness

Leanne Hall

Text Publishing Co.

Wavelength

A.J. Betts

Fremantle Press

Scripts

Do Not Go Gentle

Patricia Cornelius

HLA Management

Gwen In Purgatory

Tommy Murphy

Currency Press

Life Without Me

Daniel Keene

Currency Press

Love Me Tender

Tom Holloway

HLA Management

Quack

Ian Wilding

Currency Press

Songs for Nobodies

Joanna Murray—Smith

Currency Press

State Library of Western Australia WA History Award

From the Barracks to the Burrup: The National Trust in Western Australia

Prof Andrea Whitcomb and Dr Kate Gregory

UNSW Press

Till the Stream Runs Dry: A history of hydrography in WA

Bill Bunbury

Department of Water

The Australind Journals of Marshall Waller Clifton 1840-1861

Phyllis Barnes and Dr James Cameron

Hesperian Press

The Forgotten Explorers: pioneer geologists of Western Australia, 1826-1926

Dr J. J. E. Glover and Jenny Bevan

Hesperian Press

Vite Italiane: Italian Lives in Western Australia

Dr Susanna Iuliano

UWA Publishing

Digital Narrative

Only a small number of entries were received for this category and there will not be a shortlist. An encouragement award will be announced at the award presentation ceremony.